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What is the Most Expensive Ancient Coin in the World? Surprise

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They can say what they want, but this is the most expensive ancient coin in the world today. can you imagine how much it is worth?

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Brasher Doubloon
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Guess what…

The title to the most expensive ancient coin in the world has just changed hands.

It is a fact that we have recently learned. That is why there is still little information on the Internet about this spectacular event.

Except in specialized sites that only the most knowledgeable specialists consult on a daily basis.

Today I am going to tell you some interesting things about the most expensive ancient coin in the world, and why I consider it to be the most expensive one, despite the fact that another one was sold for a higher sum before.

This is an article you will want to read to the end.

The most expensive coin in the world (until recently)

Until very recently, the specimen that topped all lists of the most expensive ancient coins in the world is the famous Silver Dollar of 1794.

dolar de plata acunado en 1794

This piece was sold for the astronomical price of 10 million dollars.

It thus became the most valuable coin in the world. That is to say, until recently you could ask anyone who likes numismatics what is the most expensive coin in the world, and they will surely answer that the “Amon Carter” by Bruce Morelan is the most expensive coin in the world.

The problem is that this coin was recently put up for auction for the sum of 7 million dollars, but no one dared to pay that sum. Therefore, we could say that its real price is currently lower than the amount for which its current owner bought it.

In other words, the fact that it was paid 10 million in the past does not mean that it is worth the same today.

In my opinion, the real price of the Silver Dollar “Amon Carter” is currently less than 7 million.

But there is a coin that, also currently, exceeds that price and, therefore, makes it the most expensive coin in the world.

The most expensive ancient coin in the world

Currently the coin that we can consider as the most expensive in the world, because it has been paid very recently a considerable sum for it, is the famous “Brasher Doubloon”.

Brasher Doubloon
«Brasher Doubloon»

The coin was auctioned on January 21, 2021 for the astronomical sum of 7.8 million US dollars. Adding the commission to be assumed by the person who acquired it, we can conclude that he ended up paying 9.48 million dollars for the “Brasher Doubloon”.

It is true that 9.48 million is less than the 10 million that was paid at the time for the Silver Dollar “Amon Carter”. But, as I told you before, last year it was tried to sell for only 7 million and nobody wanted to buy it, so it is in doubt if it is really worth that amount .

I share with you the video of the auction of the “Brasher Doubloon” coin.

The auction starts at 5,450,000.00 dollars, and in less than 7 minutes the price escalates to the amount of 7.8 million dollars. A barbaric price!

The ancient coin “Brasher Doubloon”, currently the most expensive in the world, has a very interesting past, which totally marks the history of American numismatics.

History of the most expensive ancient coin

Just to give you an idea, the importance of the Brasher Doubloon is given not only by its absolute rarity, but also because New York style doubloons are among the most demanded issues and pieces by colonial coin collectors.

This doubloon type coin is one of the few private prefederal gold coins produced in the United States for circulation purposes. Quite a rarity.

Now let’s review a little history about the most expensive ancient coin in the world today .

It is known as the “Brasher Doubloon” after the name of its creator Ephraim Brasher.

Ephraim Brasher

Ephraim Brasher was a noted goldsmith and silversmith who was highly regarded for his skills and well known for his hallmark, which he stamped on his own coins and coins sent to him for analysis.

In 1787 Brasher made a small quantity of doubloons and other coins for general circulation.

Doubloons because they were the coin of the realm and, at that time, the United States did not have an established monetary standard, as the first Coinage Act was still some years away in 1792.

It is true that at that time (1787) there were mints operating in some states, but most of them produced small copper coins; and they were not backed by a federal law in the United States.

It was in this context that the Brasher doubloons emerged, which weighed approximately the same as a Spanish gold doubloon. Spanish doubloons circulated throughout colonial America, and were generally highly valued as currency.

Of the pieces made by Ephraim Brasher, the most exclusive is this one that has just been auctioned for 7.8 million dollars, making it the most expensive antique coin in the world.

“Brasher Doubloon”.

The “Brasher Doubloon” coin has features that make it unique and highly desirable for any collector of exclusive ancient coins.

The HERITAGE ACTIONS website describes it as follows.

The reverse of the “Brasher Doubloon.”

Was adapted from the coat of arms of the state of New York. The sun rises over a mountaintop with a body of water in the foreground. Brasher’s name is written below the waves in small letters. This central device is enclosed within a circle of beads. The legend, all around: NOVA EBORACA COLUMBIA EXCELSIOR with each word separated by a rosette. This legend translates to New York, United States, Ever Higher. Excelsior remains the state motto to this day.

HERITAGE ACTIONS

While the reverse of the “Brasher Doubloon” features:

An eagle with wings spread and a shield covering its breast, it holds a bundle of arrows in its sinister talon (to the observer’s right) and an olive branch in its dexterous talon. Thirteen stars surround the eagle’s head. This central device is enclosed in a continuous crown. Around it, the legend: UNUM E PLURIBUS with the words separated by stars. This legend translates as One of many. Below, the date 1787 is flanked by rosettes. These devices are similarly used on the Great Seal of the United States. As on most coins of this era, the denomination was not specifically expressed.

HERITAGE ACTIONS

Today, numismatists know of seven examples of the Brasher doubloon of 1787. The other coins struck by Ephraim Brasher were possibly melted down at the Philadelphia mint for recycling and the minting of new American coins. The one we know today is a survivor.

From hand to hand, record to record

It is known about “Brasher Doubloon” that it was just purchased for 9.48 million; that its first recorded owner was Matthew Adams Stickney, of Salem, Massachusetts; that by 1820 he was already collecting coins when numismatics had not yet become widespread in the United States.

Stickney kept the coin until his death in 1894.

Stickney’s daughters kept the collection in their possession for another 13 years, but then consigned it to a Philadelphia coin dealer named Henry Chapman for sale in June 1907.

The most prominent buyer was “Colonel” James W. Ellsworth. He bought the 1776 Massachusetts “Janus” copper for $1,050, the 1804 Dollar for $3,600 and the 1787 “Brasher Doubloon” for a staggering $6,200.

Even at the time, the sum paid for the Brasher Doubloon was exorbitant, and broke the then current record for the purchase of a collector coin, which was set at $2,165 paid.

As you can see, this coin has always been highly valued by collectors, so we should not be surprised that it is currently the most expensive ancient coin in the world.

In 1979 the “Brasher Doubloon” was auctioned again, this time it was acquired by Patrick Garret who paid $ 725,000 to get the piece in question. A new record in the sale of ancient coins.

The third record would be the current one, when someone (we don’t know who yet) ends up paying more than $9 million to take the specimen home.

If you liked the article, feel free to share it on your social networks and leave me a comment telling me what struck you the most: the price, the story, … something else?

Kossi Adzo is the editor and author of Startup.info. He is software engineer. Innovation, Businesses and companies are his passion. He filled several patents in IT & Communication technologies. He manages the technical operations at Startup.info.

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